ALBERTA JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS ANNOUNCED

OTTAWA , November 30, 2007 - The Honourable Rob Nicholson, P.C., Q.C., M.P. for Niagara Falls, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointments:

The Honourable Earl C. Wilson , a lawyer with Wolch, Wilson, Hursh & de Wit in Calgary is appointed as a Judge of the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta. Mr. Justice Wilson is replacing Madam Justice P.A. Rowbotham ( Calgary) who was appointed to the Court of Appeal.

Mr. Justice Wilson received a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Manitoba in 1976, and a B. A. with Honours from Lakehead University in 1973. He was admitted to the Alberta Bar in 1979.

Mr. Justice Wilson is a former Crown Prosecutor with the Alberta Attorney General Department and currently self employed in private practice since 1995. He has developed a practice expertise in criminal law and environmental law. In addition Mr. Justice Wilson was Co-chairman of the Disciplinary Hearing Committee of the Alberta Stock Exchange from 1998-2004, a sessional lecturer at the Alberta Bar Admission Courses, and a faculty member for National Criminal Law Program Sponsored by the Federation of Law Societies since 2000.

The Honourable Jo’Anne Strekaf , a lawyer with Bennett Jones LLP in Calgary is appointed as a Judge of the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta. Madam Justice Strekaf is replacing Mr. Justice T.F. McMahon ( Calgary) who was elected to become a supernumerary judge.

Madam Justice Strekaf received a Master of Laws from Cambridge University, Cambridge England in 1986, a Bachelor of Laws from Queen’s University in 1980, and a Bachelor of Administration from the University of Regina in 1979. She was admitted to the Alberta Bar in 1981. Madam Justice Strekaf is a member of the Competition Law and Research Practice Groups, she joined the Litigation Department at Bennett Jones LLP in 1981, and became a partner of the firm in 1989. She has developed a practice expertise in commercial litigation, arbitrations and competition law. In addition Madam Justice Strekaf is a member of the Editorial Board of the Canadian Competition Record, has authored and presented numerous articles and presentations over the past 18 years at various conferences across Canada, and she is recognized annually both nationally and internationally by LEXPERT/American Lawyer’s Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada as one of Canada’s Leading competition/antitrust lawyers.

These appointments are effective immediately.

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Ref.:

Darren Eke
Press Secretary
Minister’s Office
613-992-4621